[68ragtop]

Also, I bought several feet of the tach strip for the rear. Did you guys rivet yours in? Not excited about drilling holes & having rivet heads sticking out of the metal strips. Was expecting it to be wider & having to work it under the lip like the original is now. Awful lot of staples have to go into this skinny strip.

Two rows side by side with a seam in the middle? If thats the case I didn't order enough of it.

Hmmmmmmm.

[PurelyGTO68]

You need the wider tack strip if you can. It is a little thin but it works with shorter staples. If I had to do it again I would add a thin strip of formica over the top of the tack strip so the staples could bite more.

After you get your tack strips prepared....bolt them into the car and measure the gap on both sides. That will help you get them spaced closer to where they need to be on your first try. It will just save you some time. You will be a pro at removing and repositioning the staples by the time you are done.

[68ragtop]

I just asked for 6' of the strip that goes in the back & that's what I got. I do not want rivets sticking through, nor do I want such a skinny piece in there. Thickness is correct, but its way to skinny imo.
I wonder if there is a place I can order a more correct size?

I did put a message out to Kee to see what they recommend for those wrinkles. No, my top is not installed yet, but it has the same marks that I could easily see being hard to remove. I'll let you know what they say. I would like to try & remove mine before I install it.

68RT

[kk68]

Originally Posted by 68ragtop

Also, I bought several feet of the tach strip for the rear. Did you guys rivet yours in? Not excited about drilling holes & having rivet heads sticking out of the metal strips. Was expecting it to be wider & having to work it under the lip like the original is now. Awful lot of staples have to go into this skinny strip.

Two rows side by side with a seam in the middle? If thats the case I didn't order enough of it.

Hmmmmmmm.

Your tack strip, at least the part in this photo, looks to be in very good condition, I would use as is and not replace the tacking material. Mine was in much worse shape and it worked fine, although after I had the top adjusted and restapled for the final time I drilled and added a few sheet metal screws along the bends in each corner and at each end of the 3 pieces for extra holding in the highest stress areas. Once the 3 piece tack strip is bolted in, the stapled cvt well liner, rear curtain, and top are all squeezed against the top well sheet metal to hold in place. However, when your pulling this back area of the top in and out to adjust it is easy for the staples to pull out as you move and wrestle with it.

[68ragtop]

I ended up hearing back from Kee tops today. I shared Purely's photo with them & they said the wrinkles should come out with a steamer & some time in the sun.

[68ragtop]

I wonder why Kee puts a stitched seam in the section above the back glass? I am getting the window positioned in the same location as my original & was surprised how long the top is past the bow & then stitched besides. All of that will obviously get cut off. the bottom was just two layers loose. If it was just to keep the layers together, I am surprised they didn't have that on the bottom too.
Would have helped in keeping both layer together stapling to the trim sticks.

Assuming that's why the top is stitched that is?

.

[PurelyGTO68]

I think your curtain might be too high. How far up is the bottom of the glass from the molding? Is your rear (fixed) bow about 20 1/2" from molding to center of the bow?

I didn't have any extra material to trim off the top of the window curtain. The stitching landed just forward of the rear bow on my car. The top of the window should be about 5 1/8" down from the center of the rear bow. Check your Fisher Body manual page 13-8.....it shows the top of the window opening (on the main top) to be 5 3/8" down from the center of the bow.

It's possible the Kee glass is smaller than the OE glass....(I am not sure since my orignal top was missing). If so, then you want to make sure the bottom of your new glass is the same distance from the molding as your old glass provided the top of the glass is covered by the opening in the main top. On my car, it was very close....but the main top did cover the top edge of the glass, but just barely. 3/16"-1/4" coverage up there. It was that close.

[68ragtop]

Glass is at 3-5/8" (bottom to 16-1/4" (top) measuring up from the stainless trim.
from the center of the rear bow its at 20.5" now. measuring from the top, the glass is about 4-1/4 down from the center of the bow. Much higher than the 5-3/8" you mention. I'll take a peek at the book. Right now its dang near exact to were my original glass was.

So did you put the bottom scribed line at the top of the trim sticks, or in the center?

[68ragtop]

My oe glass is 13" tall in the center, the Kee is 12-3/4" so pretty close.

I will have about 3/4 to 1" to trim off at the bow when I am finished. If I had the scribed line in the center of the trim sticks (bolt line) it would be very close to what you are describing. I lined mine up at the top of the trim sticks because that put the window very close to were my original was & seemed to be where the other instructional write ups & videos showed it. I haven't trimmed anything yet, so I could move it, but the window is dang near exact to were my original was.

[PurelyGTO68]

In the picture you posted above....what is the measurement from top of window to center of rear bow?

[PurelyGTO68]

Ooos....I didnt see your other post....
Looks like your glass needs to come down then. No benefit to have it so high in my opinion since the main top will cover all the top portion anyway.

I will measure the space below the glass when I get home.

[PurelyGTO68]

I forgot to answer your other question...
I started with the line in the center of the trim stick and then ended up at the bottom after some repositioning. I think I installed, removed, repositioned and reinstalled the curtain about 6-7 times before I got it where I wanted.

Make sure you center the glass left to right across the top AND across the bottom. Kee gives you a mark at the bottom but you have to measure and make your own center mark at top. If you get the glass in there out of position then the main top won't align with the top and sides of the glass. There is isnt much play so you have to be pretty close

[PurelyGTO68]

Took some measurements for you...
About 3" from trim to bottom of visible glass.
The main top overhangs the top edge of visible glass about 1/4" at most.....maybe 1/8" in the very center which is the min dimension....most everywhere else it overhangs about 1/4".

Sides of main top overhang the visible glass about 3/8".

Feel free to call me if you have an urgent question. I left my cell number in your PM mailbox. I am heading out to the garage to install the exhaust system and clutch linkage now...

[68ragtop]

Purely, Thanks for all your added efforts. Very much appreciated. I am actually enjoying this install, pretty rewarding so far. But like you mentioned, the in & out with the trim sticks & bag is very tedious & I could see this being the part people loose their patience. As far as the window height, I ended up leaving mine at 3-1/2" A little higher, but thats were my original glass was, so I just wanted to duplicate it. That & everything else was fitting good.

I anticipate I will end up with a little more covered at the top like you mentioned, but it also might be a little more wiggle room. I'll bet the factory workers cheated that a little possibly for that reason. Today I am going to see if I can copy a few marks from the trim stick holes from the old top to get a starting point for the new one. The area where the flaps come down by the quarter glass to the trim sticks is quite different from the oe top. The original had three layers of material & went all the way to the bottom. The Kee top has just one, & don't go down that far. Guessing its just not needed the way the new top is made & sewn.

[SR-71]

Top details from an unrestored 69 GTO at the GTOAA Nationals in 2017.

[68ragtop]

I would love to have seen how these were installed from the factory. Aside from my original top being beyond worn, it fit pretty dang tight without wrinkles. As I took things apart, I saw endless staples, but didn't really notice any extra holes from removed staples. I wonder if they had some sort of jig that got things really close right from the beginning. Almost had to have had something that took care of most of it before it ever went into the car.

[68ragtop]

Thanks to the contribution everyone has made, I have completed the top install & it went very well. There are a few things I would do different if I had to do it over, but I am very satisfied with the results.

Still doing my homework on how far I want to run the rear bow wire-on strip down the side. I know Kee says 3" max or warranty is void, but I think that is a strong safety margin depending on how far the top can drop into the well & pull on that area setting up the potential for a tear. My original top was 6-1/2" down & no tears at that location. I was recently given a copy of the 69 dealer service bulletin from gto4evr & learned about the 4 X 4 X 1-1/2" foam blocks to keep the top raised a bit more when dropped back to prevent possible tears. In that bulletin they mention the wire-on strips 6" long at most. Just kinda like the look of them being a little longer.

.

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[PurelyGTO68]

Looks great! How did that pocket for the second bow line up?

[68ragtop]

I could squeeze it in now, but there is very little wiggle room. I am going to give it one more stretch at the front this weekend. I think you were pretty accurate with 1.5". I initially pulled it 1.5 & it was soooo tight I couldn't even lock it. So a few staples at 1" worked well for now, but needs a fuzz more for that listing bar to fit with ease. Still tight though. If I unlock it, it pops up about 2" from windshield.

[68ragtop]

Did you go after those wrinkle marks yet? I pre ironed the sail panels with a lot of steam ahead of time & they disappeared. I am confident yours will too, if you didn't work them out already.